I will be in Melbourne for business for the next 2 weeks and have an upcoming marathon. I would like to know a couple 20 to 30K runs around the area where I will be staying. I checked out a few of the routes that everyone has put on BT and I am looking forward to running a few. I will be staying in Docklands close to the waterfront so anything around there would be appreciated. Also let me know what the neighborhood is like early morning and late afternoon.

From Docklands you have heaps of great options...http://healthywaterways.melbournewater.com.au/content/84hundred/walking_biking_paths.aspSome links on this page.Probable the Main Yarra Trail, Capital City Trail or find the trail to the Bay and you can run forever along the bay utilizing some of the Melbourne IM route...all of them are interesting and scenic.Have fun.TamAlso check out the Bicycle Victoria website for other bike trails...usually shared trails.Edit to add that I did this on my iPad so my ability to make this post more user friendly (eg hyperlink, paragraphs etc) defies me....

Head for the beach and just keep running! that path never ends. I'm not so familiar with the Docklands....

Found this on Cool Running (Albert Park lake is a 5km circuit.) I find Melbourne to be a safe city to run in..clearly be as careful as you would anywhere, and let someone know (even the hotel reception) when to expect you back

A nice route from Docklands would be to go down to South Bank and then to Port Melbourne, run along the seaside for as long as you wanted (to St Kilda is nice - particularly at the weekends when the crazy kite surfers are out), then come back via Albert Park - throwing in a lap of the lake. Depending on how far you wanted to go you could then head to the Botanical gardens for a lap or just a run through it (quite pretty), then back along the Yarra to Docklands

Tri series in Melbourne are run by...http://www.supersprint.com.au/Andhttp://www.starttofinish.com.au/(Hopefully this iPad has given enough spacing to allow you at least to copy and paste.)Fun run..check out Cool running.Have fun.

For the run to the beach, catch the 109 tram and you will see a running path next to it not far from docklands, figure out the closest point to your accomodation and how to get there, take it through to the beach, turn left and run along as far as you want.

I'm late to reply on this, but for other visitors to Melbourne -- As others have mentioned, the bayside trail is great -- goes on forever and is very scenic (especially on a nice sunny day). Although the view is kinda the same after awhile

Capital City trail is another nice one with more varied scenery. Gives you a good taste of Melbourne, and the section along the Yarra is lovely. Capital City trail connects directly with the Docklands, whereas the bayside one takes a bit of finagling to get to from the Docklands, but not much.

Both are lovely runs/places to cycle and I highly recommend them for any visitors wanting some Melbourne scenery during their workout!